The Other Way Round
by The Super Twins
Summary: Everyone always puts Meiko as the drunk one, but what if it was the other way round? What if it was Kaito? What if Meiko was stuck in a relationship with an abusive drunkard who doesn't love her? Can she change his mind, despite her friends trying to convince her to dump him? Rated M for abuse and language
1. The Man Who Waited

**A/N**

**It's a shame there aren't many KaiMei fanfictions on here. And there aren't many M rated ones at all. It's such a shame! So, here's my fanfiction, dedicated to the lovely pairing! Just like it said in the description, there is abuse in this, and there will be some quite sexual scenes later on and, despite what happens, this story is ultimately KaiMei ^^**

* * *

Chapter 01: The Man Who Waited

Serving drinks at the bar, Meiko hummed to herself. She swung her hips in a sassy way as she worked. Her breasts jiggled as she danced around, as large breasts would always do when the owner of them moved about. As someone called out for a drink, Meiko turned around and leant an elbow against the top of the bar as she took the person's order.

"And, my dear kind sir, what would you like this fine evening?" she asked in a sultry voice, the exact same voice she used when taking everyone's orders.

"Are you on the menu, my dear lady?" The man looked up at her, eyes slightly narrow to help complete the seductive look he was pulling.

Meiko eyed him. He wasn't like all the other boring men that flirted with her. This guy actually looked quite handsome, with his mop of blue, scruffy hair. He had a slightly square jaw line and features that, Meiko could instantly tell, would be attractive even when he was pulling a bland expression.

Still, that wasn't enough to entice Meiko and she continued on as normal. "Nope, I'm afraid not, darling."

"Surely a fine specimen like you has to be available?" The man pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth.

"Well, I'm not." Meiko stood up, leaning to the side so all her weight fell on one leg. At the corner of her eye she was aware her boss, Miriam, was not too far away. "So, are you going to order a drink?"

The roguish glint in the man's eyes gave away exactly what the man wanted to drink, and it wasn't anything from the bar. After a while, he wryly said, "Just a beer will do."

"And the type of beer?"

The man gave the specific type of beer and Meiko complied, spinning around, humming to herself again. She snatched up a glass, slid it under the machine, pulling the lever down. The peered poured in, piling up into a frothy brew. With a flourish, she handed over the glass to the man.

"That would be £3.20, please." She chortled, standing back with her hands on her hips as she admired the blue haired man.

"Thank you, my dear lady," the man said.

As he took a sip, he eyed her, the playful glint still clear in his eyes. His gaze though did slip, landing on her chest. Meiko didn't mention anything about it, she just let him stare, she was used to guys staring.

"Meiko, there are guys to serve." Miriam idled over, a cloth hanging over her arm.

"Sure thing, ma'am," Meiko replied.

She looked back at the man she had most recently served. With a quick wink and a kiss in his direction, she sauntered away, backside swaying, a teasing parting gift to the blue haired man. Miriam sighed, but it was a happy sigh. She didn't mind about Meiko's flirtatious attitude with the attendees, it drew in more people to the bar.

As Meiko continued to serve customers, she stole a quick glance at the blue haired man. He was staring at her, no longer with a teasing glint in his eyes. Instead, it had been replaced with curiosity. Meiko smiled at him and he gave her a warm smile back.

* * *

Meiko's shift had eventually come to an end. She scooted away from the bar and to the back room where she tugged her coat off the hook it was hanging on. Having momentarily forgotten she still had her apron loosely tied around her waist, she huffed in annoyance at herself, hung her coat back up and took off her apron. She folded it up neatly, before stuffing it harshly into one of her coat's pockets, kind of defeating the fact that she had previously folded it neatly. Once that had been done, Meiko pulled her coat off the hook, then put it on, pulling it over her arms as she left the back room. She gave Miriam a wave before scuffling passed the men, some of whom (namely, the very drunk ones) tried to touch her. With expertly performed moves, she slipped out into the night.

She hadn't been working a nightshift at that time, just a late one. The breezes whistle through the air, bringing shivers up Meiko's arms. She hugged herself, trying to keep as much of the warmth in as possible even though it never really worked.

"Oh, hello, fancy seeing you here."

Meiko recognised the voice almost immediately. She felt a smile for, across her lips before she put one foot behind the other, using her ankles to spin herself around to face the speaker. Cocking her hip to the side she looked up at the blue haired man.

"You're still here?" she asked coyly.

"I hung around to see when you would come out," he said truthfully, mimicking her standing pose, crossing his arms across his chest like she had done. Meiko noticed he wasn't wearing a coat, but he didn't look cold. Either he just wasn't cold or he was a superb actor and was just faking it, maybe to make himself look tougher for the ladies.

"Really now?" Meiko asked, shifting her weight to he other foot. "So, you're stalking me?"

The man laughed softly. "Not really; I was waiting, not following." He gave her a warm smile, a smile just like the one he had given her earlier. "I thought that it was a stronger possibility that I'd have a chance with you out here rather than in there."

It was Meiko's turn to laugh this time, although her laugh was a more hearty one. "And what gave you that idea, hmm?"

The man remained smiling. "I obviously got your attention in there."

Meiko raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think that?"

"The way you looked back at me and smiled."

Meiko couldn't help it, her mouth broke out into a wide grin. "You caught me out."

"Well, let me walk you home," the man said, standing up straighter in a more masculine stance. "You can deem me worthy on the way."

"And why should I let you take me home?" Meiko took a step closer to him.

"Because, as a man, it's my duty to make sure a woman gets home safely." He leant down closer to her.

They stared at each other for a second before Meiko finally said, "Okay, than."

She stood up and pointed in the direction she lived. "I live that way, which way do you live?"

The man pointed in the opposite direction. "That way."

"So, who would be walking you home, then?" Meiko asked with a little smile.

"I'm a man, I can handle it." He chuckled and held his arm out to her. "Shall we be heading off?"

"I think we shall," Meiko said, slipping her arm through his.

Both with a warm smile on their faces, they walked away under the tenebrous sky.

* * *

Meiko had never really been interested in guys. They had a habit of flirting with her just a tad too much while she was working at the bar. All of them were the same; the same attitude, the same flirting techniques, the same way of everything. This man though, the blue haired man she was walking home with, arm linked with his, was different. He was charming, more charming than any other man she'd come across. Not only that but he had actually waited for her. He hadn't run away like all the other members of the male species did when they failed at the first attempt of trying to seduce her. No, he had hung around in the freezing darkness and waited for her. It was clearly visible that he was serious in trying to win her over.

And that smile, that lovely warm smile. Every time he smiled Meiko felt herself melt somewhere inside.

It had been pleasant, walking home with him. He was quite the talker, babbling away about one thing after another. Meiko would occasionally throw in the odd comment, but other than that she listened. She listened intently to every word he said, his voice wrapping around her ears. He truly had a beautiful voice, not a gruff one like most men had. It was because of that voice Meiko was quiet. She enjoyed listening to him speak as they made their way to hers.

Meiko had already found herself relaxing into him, her head resting against his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind. He pulled her in a little closer. To any passers by they probably would have looked like a couple on a late night stroll.

Unfortunately though, it couldn't last forever. They eventually were stood outside the door to the flats Meiko lived in.

"So, this is where we say good bye, I suppose," Meiko said, looking up at the man. She couldn't help it, she did feel a little sad.

"Hopefully, not forever," the man said.

"You mean you want to see me again?"

"If it's okay with you." He laughed a sweet, soft laugh.

"It's perfectly fine by me!" Meiko said, not being able to disguise her happiness.

"Well then, which floor do you live in, top or bottom?" The man nodded towards the buildings as he asked the question.

"Now that would be telling." Meiko smiled slyly.

The man laughed. "All right, let me give you my number."

He pulled a permanent marker out of his pocket (Meiko wondered why he had one in there) and held out his hand. Meiko instinctively pulled up her sleeve to her elbow then gave the man her arm. With his tongue between his teeth he slowly wrote his number along her arm. After he had finished, Meiko gazed at his number then took his pen from his hand. He too pulled back his sleeve and now it was her turn to write her own number.

"I'll call you tomorrow," she said as she handed his pen back.

"Do you promise?" the man asked, putting on a child-like voice.

Meiko laughed and held up her pinkie finger. "I pinkie promise."

The man laughed too. "Pinky promise? I remember how I alway did those in school."

"Well, I never break a pinky promise."

"Did you know the pinky promise originated in Japan where prostitutes would cut off their pinky finger as a sign of affection for their favourite customers?" the man asked, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, ew," Meiko said, pulling her hand back.

The man laughed and reached forward, wrapping his pinky finger around hers. "I promise to call you."

Meiko smiled up at him. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow."

Meiko gave the man a kiss on the cheek before heading towards the door, as she unlocked and opened it, she looked back over her shoulder. "I never told you my name, it's Meiko."

"I know, your name was on the badge on your chest."

Meiko laughed. "So when I saw you staring at me chest you were actually reading my name?"

The man shrugged. "Yeah. And maybe I was staring at something else too."

Meiko snorted. "Okay, I get it. So, are you going to tell me your name?"

"Kaito, my name is Kaito," the man replied.

"So, Kaito," Meiko said, dragging out his name. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Definitely," Kaito replied.

With one last smile, Meiko headed inside. Kaito, that was a nice name; a nice name for a nice person. Perhaps, this was the start of something nice too.

* * *

Meiko woke up, her vision hazy. She blinked a couple of times, staring up at the ceiling until her vision returned to normal. Once it had she glanced to the left side of the bed. The covers had been thrown back and it looked rather messy. So, he was already up, was he?

Meiko murmured something under her breath as she too threw back the covers and slid out of bed. She winced as she did so, the pressure on her back sending a throbbing pain all the way through her. Her head still hurt to, so it was hard to think straight.

Unlike the lazy sod who was incapable of doing anything, Meiko neatly sorted out the covers. She always had to make the bed because he was too lazy to. Once it was nice and neat to her satisfaction, she shuffled to the ensuite attached to their room. She stared into the mirror that was stuck to their wall. Her hair was a dreadful mess. She looked pale and sickly, with massive bags under her eyes. Silently, she lifted back her fringe and stared at her forehead. There was a quite impressive purple bruise there, the reason behind her headache. Meiko sighed, that bruise wasn't going to disappear very soon.

Dropping her fringe, she grabbed the hem of the nightie she was wearing and pulled it up over her head. Now standing there in only her knickers, she turned around to look at her back, instinctively covering her breasts at the same time.

Her back was decorated with quite a few bruises, here and there, along with a range of red marks. Her shoulder looked really sore. The skin had been scraped off it and, since it hadn't had time to heal properly, it was covered in dried blood. In some parts the blood had swelled up so her shoulder looked like a sore, black, red and pink mess; mostly pink because it hadn't bled to much, but bled nonetheless. Meiko couldn't help but wince as she saw it. It truly did look dreadful.

With a heavy sigh she bent down and picked up her nightie, slipping into it, cringing as the material brushed against her shoulder. Once dressed again, she padded out of the room and all the way downstairs where she peered into the living room. Sure enough, he was sitting there, slouching on the sofa, watching whatever crap was on the TV. Meiko watched him for a second before walking into the room.

The man immediately looked up at her as she walked in. Meiko didn't look back, even as she walked towards him. She bent down at his feet and picked up the beer can that was there, on its side, beer spilling out slightly onto the floor.

"You shouldn't drink too early in the morning,' she remarked as she stood up. "It's unhealthy for you."

"Like I give a fuck about whether it's unhealthy for me." The man snarled at her. "Get out of the way, you're blocking the television, you stupid whore."

Meiko immediately stepped out of the way. "But it really is unheal-"

"Did I ask for your opinion?" the man snapped at her.

"But Kaito-"

"Shut up you stupid woman!" Kaito glared at her. "Go get me a coffee; I need to make sure I'm completely sober before I start work."

"Y-yes, Kaito," Meiko said as she turned and fled from the room.

She ran to the kitchen, putting the beer can on the side before putting the kettle on to boil as quickly as she could. With shaking hands she got out a mug, the milk and the sugar, lining it all up, waiting for the water to finish boiling.

As soon as it had finished, Meiko made a coffee at super sonic speed. She knew how to make a perfect coffee for Kaito, mainly because she had made one for him so many times. As quickly as one could move while carrying a full mug of coffee, Meiko made her way back to the living room, successfully not spilling a drop.

Silently she walked back over to Kaito, holding out his coffee for him. He muttered something, waving a hand dismissively at her, telling her to put it on the little table next to the sofa. She did as she was told.

"What happened to your face?" Kaito asked suddenly.

Meiko glanced at him and saw him staring up at her. "What do you mean what happened to my face."

"Your nose grew twice as big," Kaito said sarcastically. "No, I mean that gigantic bruise, you idiot!"

"Oh, this?" She pointed to the bruise, careful not to touch it. "I fell over?"

"Fell over? When did that happen?"

"Yesterday, don't you remember?" Meiko asked hesitantly.

"Why would I bother remembering what you did?"

Meiko sighed as a flashback of what occurred played out in her mind. Kaito, drunk as usual, getting overly loud and angry. Meiko trying her best to calm him down. In his drunken rage he had hit her the pushed her and she had fallen over, first scraping her back on the corner of the sideboard before thwacking her head against the hard wooden floor.

Back in reality, Meiko sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go out and meet Luka today."

"That bitch? God, I hate her."

"Kaito, she's my friend," Meiko said but it was a pointless thing to say.

When he didn't reply Meiko silently left the room. She truly missed the old Kaito. The sweet one who had charmed her so easily and had walked her home after her shift at the bar.

Why couldn't things be back to the way they were?

* * *

**So, I hoped you liked it! I'm sorry for making Kaito a dick, I do love him really! Anyway, you'll find out the problems behind the relationship next chapter, I hope I will see you there!**


	2. Shattered Relationship

Chapter 02: Shattered Relationship

"What the hell happened to your face?"

Not 'Hello, Meiko', not 'It's nice to see you, Meiko', not even a 'What are you doing here, Meiko', the first thing Luka said when she opened the door was 'What the hell happened to your face?'

"Don't I get a hi?" Meiko asked as she lingered on the door step.

"No, you do not," Luka said firmly. "I want to know what happened and I want to know now."

Meiko rolled her eyes. "Just let me in, please."

Luka huffed, obviously desperate to know the reason there and then (she was the type of person who hated it when people stalled for time), and reluctantly let Meiko step inside. She led Meiko up to the stairs to the first floor, where her flat was, and held the door open for her friend, indicating to her to come inside. Meiko slunk inside as Luka closed the door.

"So, your face?" Luka immediately asked.

Meiko sighed and walked away to Luka's sitting room where she collapsed on her friends white leather sofa. She had always had a problem with Luka's absurd taste in white furniture. Her flat was full of it.

"I fell over and hit my face on the floor," Meiko said, twirling her fingers in the fluff of one of Luka's pink fluffy cushions.

"And is that it?" Luka walked into the room with a hair brush in her hand. She started to brush her long pink hair as she sat down net to her friend.

"Pretty much," Meiko said, giving Luka a hesitant smile.

"Meiko, I bloody well know you're lying. Luka huffed, then scowled she as she reached a knot in her hair. After a few foul mutters she looked Meiko directly in the eye. "It was Kaito, wasn't it?"

Meiko stared at her friend, a look of disgust firmly sketched into her face. "Why do you always have to accuse him!"

"Because it's true!" Luka snapped, pointing her hairbrush menacingly at Meiko. "I know what Kaito's like, I know what he's done to you. I know he will fucking do it again and again and again!"

Meiko scowled at Luka and looked away, crossing her arms tightly across her chest, clearly sending out vibes of annoyance. "You won't ever believe a word I say. Some trustworthy friend you are!"

Luka's face lost it's sternness, the look in her eyes hollow. "Please, Meiko. Just tell me the truth. I want to be there for you."

Meiko tensed her face up before sighing and relaxing her muscles, shoulders drooping. She turned back to look at her friend, unintentionally mimicking the look she was giving. "OK, so Kaito was drunk and pushed me. But it wasn't his fault! He was drunk, he didn't mean it!"

Luka's face instantly morphed into a bland expression. She stared dully at Meiko. "Oh yeah, of course it wasn't his fault."

"Of course it wasn't!"

"And it's not his fault he drank obsessively and got fucking pissed of his head, huh?" Luka growled, throwing her arms up into the air as she pushed herself up from the sofa.

"Luka, you know he's upset..." Meiko's voice trailed off.

"Upset? It's been over a year now, sixteen months to be exact. Being 'upset' is no bloody excuse!" Luka's voice dripped malicious sarcasm when she said the word 'upset'. Meiko opened her mouth and managed to pronounce one syllable before Luka was going off again. "It doesn't take that long to recover, get over it. He's just a fucking cu-"

"Luka!" Meiko yelled disapprovingly before her friend could finished her final word. "His sister died, he's allowed to be upset!"

"Yeah, and my mother died and I got over that in less than a year," Luka replied haughtily, hands on her hips as she glared at Meiko.

"That's because you're so cold hearted," Meiko said, meeting Luka's gaze directly. She tried to sound venomous but her insult came out weak and half hearted.

"No, that's because I knew my mother wouldn't want me to be upset forever. I knew she would want me to live." Luka sighed, closing her eyes. Meiko could tell she was counting to ten in her head as she ran her fingers through her hair slowly. "And besides, Kaito started to change before Kaiko died. It can't be because of her death."

Meiko moaned and put her head in her hands. "Luka, she had cancer. She only had months left to live so it hit Kaito hard."

"Whatever. That's not an excuse to be a dick to you." Luka gave Meiko a look. Not any look in particular, just a look.

"He'll get over it," Meiko said, trying her best to sound hopeful.

"And if he doesn't, I'll report him to the bloody police." Luka's voice was quiet but menacing.

Meiko sat up straight and stared up at Luka, a perfectly well done death glare embedded in her eyes. "If you ever fucking do that, I swear to God I'll hate you for the rest of my life."

"Whoa, chill, Meiko, chill." Luka held her hands in the air as if in surrender. "There is no need to swear."

"It's not like you don't do it!" Meiko retorted, plainly annoyed.

"Yeah, but you don't. So, don't. I don't like it when you do." Luka pointed at Meiko and pulled a do-as-I-say expression before slinking back over to the sofa and heavily dropping down. "Why won't you repot him to the police?"

Meiko looked away. "I love him, Luka. Nothing can change that."

"You loved the old him, do you really love the new one?" Luka's tone of voice wasn't mad anymore. There was not emotion in it which meant this was a very serious question.

"I'll love him no matter what, I'm confident in the fact he will change back." Meiko dropped her head back into her hands.

"He better," Luka grumbled.

She gave Meiko another look before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her friend. Meiko relaxed into Luka's warm arms at first but then suddenly Luka's hand brushed over her shoulder and Meiko bit her lip, desperate not to cry out at the searing pain. It didn't work though; a painful gasp escaped her throat.

Luka looked at Meiko oddly. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Meiko asked, her shoulder still throbbing.

"That squeal you made when I touched your shoulder," Luka said and before Meiko had even the slightest chance to respond, Luka had already pounced on her, lifting up Meiko's shirt. She made an exasperated noise when she saw the mess that was her friend's shoulder.

"What the hell?" she said, her voice rising.

"Hey, ow, that hurts!" Meiko winced at Luka's non-gentle approach.

"Did he do this too?" Luka demanded.

"Technically it was the sideboard-"

"I don't give a damn about 'technically'! Honestly, Meiko, why didn't dress this?"

"I was busy making dinner." It wasn't a lie.

"Oh yeah, too busy to care for your shoulder." Luka leant forward and around Meiko so she could look up into her face. "How is food more important then an injury?"

"If you don't eat you will starve," Meiko said simply.

"And if you don't dress a wound you bleed to death."

Luka tapped Meiko's shoulder before slipping off the sofa and sauntering to the exit of the room. Meiko winced, muttering under her breath. Luka plainly ignored this and when she had reached the doorway, she spun around and leant her hip against the doorframe. "I'm going to get some first aid stuff, stay there."

"Where else am I going to go?" Meiko asked, staring at the ends of Luka's pink hair as she fluttered out of sight.

It didn't take Luka too long to come trudging back into the room, a large plastic box in hand. She sat back down where she had been sitting originally on the sofa, dropping the box to the floor.

"Tell me, were you making dinner because you were hungry or because Kaito was hungry?" Luka asked as she forcefully tore Meiko's shirt off over her head.

"Me," Meiko replied, biting her lip to stop herself from grimacing in pain.

"Liar."

They spent the rest of the time in a dull silence. Luka started humming part of the way through, relieving the tension slightly. When she was done she clapped her hands together and Meiko hurriedly pulled her shirt back on. They both leant back against the sofa, Meiko with her knees tucked up against her chest, staring at the blank screen of the T.V.

"When do you have to go back?" Luka asked suddenly.

"When do I have to go back?" Meiko asked, glancing sideways.

"Yeah, before Kaito kills you."

"I hope you don't literally mean kill."

Luka rolled her eyes as melodramatically as possible. "Of course not."

Meiko managed a little chuckle. "Probably lunch time, he'll be hungry."

Luka shuffled around so she was on her side. Meiko found herself mimicking her and soon the both of them were staring at each other.

"You can stay here for lunch." Luka looked at Meiko hopefully.

Meiko shook her head. "I can't."

Luka was obviously having none of this. She grabbed Meiko's wrist. "You can and you will."

Meiko pursed her lips. "All right, as long as I can go home afterwards."

"Deal."

Luka grabbed Meiko's hand instead, albeit the wrong one, and shook it. Afterwards she proceeded to leap off the sofa and bound out of the room to her kitchen. Meiko rolled her eyes. Luka was clearly in higher spirits. Sometimes Meiko thought Luka was permanently on 'that time of month' due to how many mood swings she suffered on a regular basis.

Meiko idled out of the room, following Luka to the kitchen where she leant against the counter as Luka busied herself with boiling water. Meiko gazed around the room subconsciously as she waited, her eyes falling on the kitten calendar that was hanging from a magnet on the fridge next to her. Meiko glanced over at Luka, whom was back to humming, before flicking through the pages of the calendar.

"What you looking at?" Luka asked, looking over her shoulder.

"The calendar," Meiko said glumly, staring at one date in particular. "It's our anniversary in two months."

"Our anniversary was three months ago," Luka said, turning back to the kettle, which had just finished boiling, proceeding to pour the water inside it into the two mugs in front of her.

"You know what I mean." Meiko smirked sadly, tapping the date with one finger, knowing full well Luka knew what she meant. "I wonder if Kaito has remembered."

"If he doesn't, dump him."

"Luka!"

"I'm sorry, Im sorry."

Meiko shook her head in disbelief and sighed.

"So, how long have you been together?" Luka asked, walking over and handing Meiko a mug of coffee. "This'll be your second anniversary, right?"

Meiko nodded. "He'll change once it's our anniversary."

"He better," was all Luka muttered.

* * *

"Kaito, I'm home!"

There was no reply as Meiko swung the front door open wide. Her gaze shifted along the corridor to see if she could catch a glimpse of her partner through one of the open doors to the room but she was unable to spot him. Giving the fact he wasn't replying, he was either grumpy or asleep.

She closed the door, kicking off her shoes, nudging them to the side with her toes. She wandered over to the sitting room first, simultaneously taking off her coat and hanging it on the hook on the wall, as that was were she suspected Kaito would most likely be. She was right. He was lounging on the sofa, head flopped back, resembling a passed out man. Meiko knew he wasn't passed out though by the way his eyes were staring wildly at her.

"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice dull.

"I was having lunch with Luka," Meiko replied, smiling in hope to lighten his mood.

"Why weren't you having lunch here?"

"Because you don't like Luka, so to have lunch with her I had to stay away."

Kaito just stared at her unblinkingly. "I'm hungry. Make me a sandwich."

The cogs in Meiko's head whirred as she thought about how to react. She settled on staring at him in silence. With a huff he hastily added the word 'please' on the end of his sentence. Satisfied because this meant he was in an okay mood, as opposed to being in a bad mood in which he would normally yell and scream at her if she didn't reply, she scuttled out of the room, only sticking her head back through the doorway to ask what he wanted as a filling.

"Ham and cheese, what else?" Kaito answered with a grumpy sigh, ashamed by the fact Meiko didn't automatically know what he would want.

"I was just checking. Now, do you want normal ham or turkey ham?"

Kaito looked at her, disgusted. "Turkey ham? Are you kidding me? That stuff is revolting."

"I thought you liked it," Meiko said, frowning in confusion.

"I used to, but now it makes me want to puke, get with the times, you stupid woman."

When Kaito looked away as he sulked, Meiko sighed and slid away. She wandered to the kitchen, getting out all the ingredients she needed to make Kaito's sandwich.

As she silently hurried away, Meiko heard Kaito walk into the kitchen. She ignored the sounds of his footsteps creaking towards her. She did however steal a quick sideways glance as he leant against his elbows on the counter next to her. He stared up at her, meeting her gaze before she looked away again.

"It needs more ham," he said as he stole one of the slices of cheese.

"Of course," Meiko replied and, obeying, she put in some extra slices.

"That's better," he said as he stole another slice of cheese.

Meiko slapped his hand away. "If you keep eating it you won't have any in your sandwich."

Kaito stared up at her. "Don't tell me what to do."

Meiko quickly looked away and silently put more cheese into his sandwich. Once she had finished cutting it, Kaito slid the plate away, picking up the food and taking a bit a big as humanly possible. Afterwards he dropped the sandwich back down on to the plate, leaving it be as he wandered over to the fridge.

"Are you going to eat your sandwich?" Meiko asked hesitantly, watching him.

"I need a drink first," Kaito muttered unenthusiastically. He yanked open the fridge door, peering inside and rooting around before pulling out a bottle of beer. "Is this all we have?"

Meiko sighed. "I'll buy some more tomorrow."

Kaito rolled his head around to look at her. "And the reason you can't buy any this afternoon is?"

"Because I have work," Meiko replied, staring at her feet. Taking a deep breath she looked up. "The thing you need to do too, have you done any today?"

Kaito sneered. "As fucking if, now bugger off and leave me alone. I'll work once you're gone."

"Promise?" Meiko asked as she found herself staring down at her feet once more, an obnoxious raincloud hovering over her head,

"Promises are for children," Kaito muttered.

With nothing else left to say, he stalked over to her, snatching up his plate, and then left the room, no such think as a 'thank you' passing his lips. Meiko's shoulder sagged and she collapsed against the counter. Maybe Luka was right about Kaito.

Meiko violently shook her head. No, she would refuse to think that way. She would not give into Luka's views of things, no matter how much she loved her dear friend. Thinking about Luka though reminded Meiko that she had been going to question Kaito about their anniversary. There was little point to questioning him now so Meiko, too, left the room.

She could hear the blare of the T.V. so she cautiously avoided the sitting room, immediately heading for the stairs. Slinking up to the first floor she made her way to her room then to the en suite. She really did need to take a shower before she headed to work for the day. The only problem would be her shoulder. With a sigh, she left the en suite. It didn't matter if she skipped the shower for one day.

With nothing better to do, she collapsed heavily onto the side of the bed, dropping her head into her hands, she didn't know what was going on with her life. She didn't know what was going on with Kaito and she didn't even know what was going on with herself. What was happening? Over the last year Kaito had changed so much. She had changed so much. With a deep breath she attempted to look in the positive side. In two months it was their anniversary, Meiko was sure Kaito would change by then. One hundred percent positive.

"Reminiscing, are we?"

Kaito's voice suddenly snapped Meiko out of her reverie, causing her to jump slightly.

"Kaito, I thought you were watching T.V.," she said, putting a hand to her chest as she got her breathing under control.

"I was, but then I remembered that I had left half a can of beer upstairs earlier in and came to get that."

Kaito ignored Meiko as he strode over to the sideboard, scooping a can of beer off from the top of it. Meiko hadn't realised it had been there until he had pointed it out. Kaito shook it, checking how much was left in there. He lifted it close up to his eye so he could peer inside to make sure there was enough.

"Is that enough?" Meiko asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

"Did I ask for you're opinion?" Kaito asked, shooting a glare at her.

"It wasn't an opinion, it was a question." Meiko corrected him, a smile on her face.

Kaito glared at her even more, picking up the nearest thing to his hand, which happened to be a mug Meiko had left there previously, and chucking it at her head. She squeaked, ducking out of the way just in time for it to skim her ear and smash into the wall behind her. She looked up at Kaito, a look of horror on her face but he obviously didn't care. He didn't give her another look as he left the room.

With a a saddening sigh, Meiko glanced at the shattered pieces of the mug that now decorated the floor. Shattered, much like their relationship.

* * *

**~Author Notes**

**So, finally another chapter. It took a while because things just kept popping up, but it's finally here, that's the thing. And thanks to the people who reviewed, the sad thing is is that all of them are guest reviews, so I can't reply. I would love to reply, but I can't and that's saddening... Well, I'll see you soon for another chapter!**

**~Kouta**


	3. Shopping

Chapter 03: Shopping

Work had been a bigger nightmare than usual. Meiko's boss, Miriam, had started to notice a while back that Meiko was dragging slightly at work. She never had the nerdy she had once had back when she'd first met Kaito. Miriam had always tried to question Meiko about why her work standard was slipping, but Meiko would always avoid answering; she never wanted to push her relationship issues on to someone else.

That night was harder then usual though, considering Meiko's shoulder wouldn't stop hurting. Miriam had tried pestering Meiko again but Meiko insisted that she need not worry and continued with her work. She wished she could confide in Miriam, but she felt like she'd be betraying Kaito.

Meiko stumbled through the front door, tired and weary. If Kaito didn't notice her, she could sneak upstairs and have a good night's sleep. Kaito could be a jerk, but he'd never wake Meiko up, instead he's always let her sleep. That was annoying when she was running late for something, but at least it guaranteed she'd get a good rest. Sometimes Meiko would pretend to be asleep just so Kaito wouldn't bother her.

Something, though, stopped her from going straight upstairs. A soft melody floated through the air, the sweet sounds caressing Meiko's ears. With a slight smile, Meiko followed the music until she reached Kaito's mini studio. Kaito was a musician, and a fairly good one too. He worked at home with synthesisers and guitars, maybe other instruments once in a while.

The music he was playing at that moment was truly a beautiful masterpiece. Meiko stared through the gap in the doorway and watched as his fingers flitted over the keyboard. It was a romantic sounding piano piece, a peaceful ballad, something Kaito didn't usually do, but Meiko wished he did more often. But, just as she was relaxing to the music, Kaito seemed to make a mistake and stopped.

"Fuck it." He grumbled, picking up the sheet of music he had been playing from and, screwing it up, threw it in the bin.

Meiko's face fell. She really had been enjoying that music.

She watched Kaito pic up another sheet, a blank one this time, and grab a biro that was lying around. Pushing everything on his desk to one side, he started to scribble down some music, but didn't like it and scribbled that one up to. Meiko decided to leave the room as he leant his head against the desk in annoyance.

Upstairs, she slipped into her nightie, then crawled under her covers, pulling them above her head. She felt comforted by the darkness, as if nothing, and by nothing she really meant Kaito, could get her. Eventually though, she pulled the covers off her head, because in reality she couldn't fall asleep like that.

As she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard Kaito come in. She refused to open her eyes, instead pretending to be sound asleep.

"When did you get here?" She heard Kaito mutter. She could feel him sit on the edge of the bed next to her.

As inconspicuously as possible, Meiko buried her face into the pillow, so there was a higher chance she couldn't accidentally show she was awake.

"You should have told me, I could have asked for your opinion on my music. Stupid woman, never making the right choices." He didn't sound as irritated as he had been before, even his insult didn't seem very insulting. He just sounded tired.

Meiko heard Kaito yawn as he ruffled her hair. He hadn't ruffled her hair in a long time, so Meiko had to bite her lip to stop a wide smile stretch across her face. It seemed like he really was changing after all.

Kaito didn't say anything after that, he just silently got dressed and slipped into bed next to Meiko. The whole time she smiled secretly into her pillow.

* * *

When the morning rays flooded through the gap in the curtain, Meiko moaned and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She could feel something pressing against her so her gaze flickered down so she could see that Kaito's arms were around her. It wasn't uncommon for her to wake up with him like that. He was generally more of a sweetheart when he was asleep, which could be a little frustrating at points, especially when she needed to go to the toilet. At that moment though, he was pressing up against her sore shoulder, so she desperately wanted to move.

"Good morning," she said, tapping Kaito's arms.

"Morning," he muttered in reply.

She tapped Kaito's arms. "Move, you're hurting my shoulder."

She could feel his glare pierce her skull from behind. "I'm not taking orders from you."

Meiko sighed and hastily tacked the word 'please' on to the end of her sentence. Kaito just made a murmuring noise and rolled over. Now she was free from his grasp, Meiko sat up and massaged her shoulder.

"Did you hurt your shoulder or something?" Kaito asked in a lazy voice.

Meiko was silent for a couple of seconds. "Yeah..."

Another, longer silence followed. Eventually Kaito muttered grumpily, "Sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For that, you stupid woman." His voice had a slight snarl in it. It seemed like he'd had e initiative to realise he'd taken part in hurting Meiko.

"It's fine..."

"Just go get me a fucking coffee already!" Kaito snapped at her. It was now back to normal Kaito.

"D-don't you want a beer?" Meiko asked hesitantly.

"I drank the last fucking one yesterday, remember? You're buying more today."

Meiko wanted to burst into laughter at the irony of him asking her to remember something when, clearly, he didn't remember something himself.

"I'm going, I'm going." Meiko got to her feet and staggered downstairs. As soon as she had finished the coffee she half ran back up the stairs to where Kaito was waiting. "I have your coffee."

Kaito looked up at her with weary eyes then pushed himself up so he was sitting, holding out a hand. Meiko handed him his coffee and he instantly gulped half of it down.

"Got any plans for today?" Meiko asked, trying to start up a conversation. Usually that wouldn't go so well.

"Work, what else?" Kaito said disapprovingly. "I might go meet Gakupo too."

"Then I might go and meet Luka." She ignored Kaito glaring at her. "What. If you're going to see you're friend then I should be allowed to see mine."

"Luka's a bitch." Kaito just continued to glare at Meiko.

Meiko sighed. "I know you don't like her, but please, stop calling her a bitch."

"What, you want me to call you a bitch instead?" Kaito's voice adopted a minor snarling element to it.

Meiko immediately looked away and got to her feet. "I'm just going in the shower then I'll head to the shops and get all our groceries."

Kaito muttered something under his breath then lay back down and rolled over, spilling he remains of his coffee all over the sheets. Suppressing her annoyed moan, Meiko knew she's have to wash the sheets when she got back. She had to wash them at some point anyway, so it didn't really bother her.

She took as long as she possible could in the shower, as she hadn't had one the whole of the day before. Her shoulder stung a fair bit, but Meiko ignored it and just relaxed to the feel of the water falling around her. She couldn't stay in too long though, so she eventually got out, reluctant in doing so.

When she was out she noticed Kaito had disappeared, so after getting dressed she gathered up the sheets and Kaito's empty mug. Trudging down stairs and into the kitchen she found Kaito standing in front of the fridge with the door open.

"Hungry?" she asked politely.

"What does it fucking look like?" Kaito asked.

Meiko winced then turned away, putting the mug down as she put the sheets in to the washing machine. "W-want me to buy any food in particular when I'm out."

He just grunted as he shut the fridge.

"Kaito...?"

"I don't give a fucking shit, OK? Just buy whatever."

As Kaito stormed out of the kitchen Meiko buried her head into her knees and tried in her best attempts to hold back her tears. Maybe Kaito wasn't changing after all. He was as grumpy as usual.

After a few moments she got up, switched the washing machine on then got her things ready to go shopping. Just before she left she stuck her head into the living room where Kaito was sitting and sulking.

"Do you know what it is in two months?"

Kaito didn't look up at her when he answered. "No."

Meiko sighed and left before Kaito had time to say anything else.

* * *

Meiko gazed at the shelves in front of her wondering what she was going to buy. Her trolly was already filled with a wide variety of alcohol, balanced out by all the healthy food. She was currently standing in the ice cream isle. Ice cream always made Meiko feel better, but she barely ate it because Kaito complained she ate too much. At least she stopped eating ice cream all the time. He was still an alcoholic.

"Having trouble picking flavours?"

Meiko looked up to see a brown haired man with glasses standing next to her. He smiled at her sweetly and Meiko felt her heart flip. He was pretty cute. He looked a lot like Kaito,must with a smile on his face.

"Well, there's a lot to choose from," Meiko replied.

The man pointed at a certain type of ice cream. "Toffee, that's the best by far."

Meiko laughed. "I love toffee ice cream!"

"Who doesn't?" The man smiled sweetly. "You could always settle for your average neapolitan ice cream."

"I think I'll buy both." Meiko smiled back and put one of each ice cream into her trolly.

"Don't forget the ice lollies." The man nodded at the even larger range of ice lollies.

"I can't buy too much!" Meiko giggled.

"At least buy the screwballs." The man picked them off the shelf and handed them to Meiko.

"But they aren't ice lollies, just ice cream in a cone," Meiko pointed out as she took the box of screwballs.

"Well then, buy these too." The man handed her an assorted box of different flavours of ice lollies.

"I can't afford to buy every single ice cream off the shelf!"

"Consider them on me then." The man whipped out a five pound note from nowhere and pressed into Meiko's palm. "I have to continue shopping. Good bye."

"Wait-" He had already disappeared.

Meiko stared down at the ice cream in her hands, as well as the five pound note. With a shrug she dropped it all into the trolly (with exception of the five pound note) and continued shopping.

After she had finished and payed, Meiko stood outside with her phone in hand, rocking the trolly back and forth. She dialled Kaito's number but he didn't pick up. He also didn't pick up the home phone. Shoulder's sagging, Meiko knew she'd just have to spend an hour calling a taxi and waiting for it to pick her up.

"Need a lift?"

Meiko looked up to the the man from before standing next to her again, a few bags in his hands.

"Wha- no, I'm getting a taxi."

The man laughed. "Then you do need one, I'll give you one for free."

Meiko wasn't too sure. "Well, uh..."

He man just laughed again. "I'm not going to abduct you. If it makes you feel happier I'll give you the knife I just bought."

"Knife...?"

"I broke my last one."

Meiko then smiled gratefully. "OK, thank you!"

The man told her it was no problem and lead her to his car where he helped her unpack. "You've got quite a lot for one person."

"Well, it's for me and my boyfriend and is supposed to last a long time," Meiko replied as she lifted the bags into the car. "He was supposed to be picking me up, since he always does, but he didn't pick up the phone."

"Is your boyfriend an alcoholic?" the man asked, lifting up a bag of just alcohol.

Yes. "No, we're having a party."

"All right." Having finished packing the bags into the car they both climbed in. He did actually hand her the knife he had bought. "There you go, I don't break my promises."

Meiko giggled. "You didn't actually promise."

The man shrugged. "Let's pretend I did."

He then asked where she lived so she gave him her address and he started the car. As they drove they chatted away. It felt so nice to have a conversation with a man whom wasn't drunk.

It didn't take them long to get to Meiko's. "Here we are," the man announced.

"Thanks!" Meiko hurried out of the car and to the front door, which just swung open. "...Kaito?"

There was music playing. He must have been working so he hadn't replied.

"Do you need some help with the bags?" the man asked as he too got out of the car.

"Uh, yes, that would be nice. Just put them at the front door." Meiko said before she called for Kaito again. "Kaito! I'm back, would you mind helping with the bags?"

The music stopped abruptly and Kaito appeared. "Why should I?"

"Because it's food for you." Kaito grunted and made a movement which showed he was going to start to help with the bags, but then he paused. "Who's he?"

"Oh, him?" Meiko looked at the man who was approaching with bags in his hands. "He gave me a lift because you weren't picking up the phone."

Kaito gave the man a death glare, which, thankfully, he didn't see, before grunting again and disappearing.

"That your boyfriend?" the man asked as he reached Meiko.

"Yeah, he was just busy working so didn't hear the phone." She pointed along the corridor. "You wouldn't mind carrying them to the kitchen, would you?"

"Not a problem." The man went to the kitchen as Meiko went to the car to get more bags. Together they carried all of the bags into the kitchen.

"Thanks for your help," Meiko said as she started to unpack the bags.

"You're welcome," the man said. "But why isn't your boyfriend helping."

"He has a lot of work to do." Meiko lied. The proper reason was probably because he was feeling lazy. As soon as Meiko had spoken music started to play. "Ah, that's him right now."

"He's a musician?"

Meiko nodded. "He's a really good one too."

"He really is. Well, do you nee more help?" The man indicated to all the bags.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm sure you've got stuff to do."

"...Oh yeah, I do."

Meiko laughed and lead the man to the door. "Well, thanks for all your help!"

"It's no problem." The man gave a wave then left.

As Meiko closed the door the music came to a halt again.

"Who the fucking hell was he?"

Meiko quickly spun around and looked up at Kaito. "I already said, just a man that offered me a lift."

"I don't fucking believe you." Kaito glared at her.

"I-I don't even know his name!" Meiko exclaimed. "I'll probably never see him again!"

"You better not. Now where's the bloody alcohol." He stormed out of the corridor and into the kitchen.

Meiko stood there silently, then put her head in her hands.

* * *

**~Author's Notes~**

**Is they're relationship going to get more complicated~? Well, I'm sorry I didn't update in a long time, but we're finally here, that's what counts. Anyway, I hope I'll see you at the next teacher. Don't forget to leave a review and fave & follow if you like it!**

**~Kouta**


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